


No Cuddling

by night_storm



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Incest, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26078320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/night_storm/pseuds/night_storm
Summary: Leo and Donnie both can't sleep, which gives Leo an idea on how to best obtain his brother's attention: Cuddling.
Relationships: Donatello/Leonardo (TMNT)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 118





	No Cuddling

Leo yawned, stretching his arms above his head as he walked slowly and aimlessly down one of the hallways in their lair. It was around 3 in the morning, and rest was impossible. He’d been having trouble sleeping pretty much all month, but some nights were worse than others. Tonight, unfortunately, was one of those nights; plagued by thoughts that wouldn’t so much as let him close his eyes. Occasionally, Leo would get sick of staring at the ceiling of his room and would instead walk around until he felt tired enough to sleep.

A faint light flashed ahead of him and Leo paused to look up at where it had come from. Donnie’s lab was only a few feet away, and it seemed like he was still up. That wasn’t particularly surprising- Donnie wasn’t exactly the best at sticking to a tight sleep schedule. Leo peeked around the corner and saw just what he expected; his brother, back turned, hunched over with headphones on. He was intently focused on whatever project was in front of him and gave no notice to his surroundings.

A mischievous grin spread across Leo’s face. _Perfect._

Making sure to be as stealthy as possible, Leo snuck his way into the lab and kept his body low until he was directly behind his brother. This was definitely the best use of his ninja skills. When he was confident he was in the perfect spot, he sprang up all at once and grabbed Donnie by the shoulders, screaming _“hey!”_ as loud as possible to effectively get his attention.

It worked. Donnie let out a startled yelp and whipped around, swinging the butt of the screwdriver he was holding directly into-

“Augh!” Leo stumbled backwards, clutching his jaw with both hands, then tripped over his own two feet and fell clumsily onto his side. Pain shot through his jaw like- Well, like it had been hit with a screwdriver.

“Leo?!” Leo heard Donnie gasp, “What are- I’m so sorry, are you okay?!”

Leo grimaced and blinked opened his eyes just in time to see Donnie throwing his headphones aside and scrambling out of his chair to get to him, obviously concerned. It would warm Leo’s heart if his jaw wasn’t already on fire.

“You broke my jaw!” Leo cried through clenched teeth, still tenderly guarding the wound with his hands.

“Oh, it’s not broken, don’t be so dramatic,” Donnie said, but looked less confident than he sounded. He kneeled down in front of Leo and placed a firm hand on one of his wrists. “Let me see.”

Leo shook his head stubbornly, turning away and leaning backwards in a vain attempt to escape.

“What are you, five years old? Come here.” Donnie reached out and forcibly pulled Leo’s hands away from his jaw, making him wince at the sudden movement.

“Hey!”

“Keep still and let me see it.” Donnie’s tone was patient, yet annoyed, and his expression was tinged with worry. Leo glared at him, then let out a breath and finally relented, letting his arms go limp in his brother’s grasp.

“There, was that so hard?” Donnie said, giving Leo a sarcastic look. Leo just rolled his eyes and glanced away.

Donnie’s hand was gentle as he placed his fingers underneath Leo’s chin. The wound, which had now blossomed into a lovely shade of purple, still throbbed with pain, but it was somewhat dulled by the distraction of Donnie observing him. His fingers gently nudged his chin to turn to the side, and Leo could feel his cheeks heating up. He ignored the feeling and swallowed, attempting to swallow his thoughts as well.

“It’s nothing serious,” Donnie announced, sounding rather bored. If he noticed Leo’s embarrassment, he didn’t mention it. “But you’re going to have a bruise for a while. We should probably put some ice on it.”

Donnie finally took his hand away and moved to stand up, but apparently Leo wasn’t through yet. Acting on impulse, he jerked a hand out and gripped his brother’s wrist, keeping his hand in the air only inches away from where it had been moments before. There was a pause, and Donnie raised an eyebrow when Leo didn’t move any further.

“Uhh,” Leo’s mind raced. Why had he just done that? Well, he knew why, but that wasn’t relevant. What was relevant was Donnie’s confused expression waiting for a normal explanation which Leo did not have. _Say something._ “Uh, it... It doesn’t hurt that bad, I don’t need any ice!”

“Leon,” Donnie said, pulling his wrist out of the now weak grip that held it there, “You were whining five seconds ago about how it felt like your jaw was broken. I’m getting you the ice.”

Leo let out a nervous chuckle. “Yeah, okay.”

With that, Donnie stood, brushed himself off, and walked casually out of the lab, in no particular hurry. Leo sighed once he had left and let himself flop backwards onto the cool ground, closing his eyes while he did so. That entire situation hadn’t worked out at all like what he was expecting. He had been confident Donnie would let out a high-pitched scream, Leo would laugh at him, and their usual dynamic would be safe and secure. But _nooo,_ instead, Donnie had to go smacking him in the face and Leo had to act like a total idiot. That seemed to be all he could do lately; embarrass himself in front of Donnie. What had he been thinking, grabbing his wrist like that?!

Whatever. On the bright side, it was always nice to see Donnie act worried about him. He played it cool a lot of the time, but Leo knew he cared. It just took a bit of nudging to get him to show it.

When Donnie came back a couple minutes later, he was holding a small bag of ice wrapped in a towel. Leo ignored the sound of approaching footsteps and kept his eyes closed.

“‘Nardo,” a foot nudged Leo’s shoulder, so he opened an eye to see Donnie standing above him, a bored expression on his face. “Do you want the ice or not?”

Leo easily pushed himself up off the floor into a sitting position and turned around, reaching up to take the ice pack from the other’s hands.

“I thought you had abandoned me,” Leo said, pouting as he gently pressed the cold bundle to his aching jaw. The pain wasn’t near as bad as it had been, but it certainly still felt nice against his skin.

Donnie sighed, trying his best to look annoyed, but there was clearly a smile playing on his lips. “You’re in my lab. I can’t exactly abandon you while you’re in here, as much as I may want to.”

“Lucky me.”

Donnie walked back over to his chair and sat down, presumably to continue tinkering with whatever it was he was working on. Leo stood up and followed him, jumping up to sit on the desk. Donnie didn’t even look at him. Instead, he picked up the screwdriver that had been used to break his poor brother’s jaw and began unscrewing a panel on the side of a small round device. He didn’t put the headphones he had tossed aside back on, which meant he was fair game to keep talking to. Leo opened his mouth to do just that but was stopped short by Donnie beating him to it.

“So… Were you solely in here to try some pathetic attempt at scaring me, or...?”

“Try? _Pathetic attempt?_ ” Leo scoffed confidently. “I’d say I was pretty successful.”

“Ahah, no, dear brother,” Donnie remained focused on his work, flipping open the panel and examining the wires tangled together inside. “The only thing you succeeded in was getting a screwdriver to the face. A+ in that.”

“Whatever you say, Dee,” Leo winked. Donnie glared at him, then looked away after a moment and cleared his throat, suddenly sheepish. “Why are you up so late, anyway?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Leo countered, leaning backwards and putting his weight on his free hand.

“You could, but the answer should already be obvious.”

“You’re working on some new toy?”

Donnie looked up, agitated, to correct him. It was almost too easy to get under his skin. “It’s not a _toy,_ it’s part of Shelldon. He’s been having some trouble flying lately, so I’m trying to find the cause of the issue.”

“Ohh,” Leo nodded, recognizing the piece as one of the machine’s drone propellers. “I thought it looked familiar.”

“Yes, it should, if you’ve paid any amount of attention to your surroundings at all.”

“You say that like I don’t!”

“And _do_ you?”

“Of course I do!” Leo gasped at the accusation, putting a dramatic hand on his chest to really sell it. “What do you take me for, some kind of turtle who doesn’t care about anyone but himself?”

Donnie paused what he was doing to turn and look up at Leo square in the eyes. “Yes.” Then he promptly turned away and continued working. Leo laughed, thoroughly amused. Donnie smiled at his reaction and waved his hand dismissively as Leo caught his breath.

“But we’re getting off topic here. Why are _you_ still up? Aren’t you usually asleep by now?”

“Can’t sleep,” Leo shrugged. The answer was a bit more complicated than that, but the whole truth wasn’t something he wanted to divulge in. Especially not with Donnie. “I figured I’d see what my _faaavorite_ brother was up to. Imagine my surprise when he greets me with a screwdriver to the face.” Leo took the ice off his jaw and gingerly rubbed at the bruise, making a pained expression for emphasis. Donnie was not impressed.

“A well-deserved screwdriver to the face, if you ask me.”

Leo gasped. “Well-deserved?! All I did was say hello!”

Donnie cackled, then suddenly his expression became menacing. “Don’t you start with me.”

Leo punched him on the shoulder and laughed, not intimidated in the slightest. Donnie huffed and rubbed his arm, then yawned loudly. His display prompted an idea to spring to the forefront of Leo’s mind, and he blinked at the sudden thought. _Worth a shot._

“Guess I should try to get some sleep. What about you?” He tilted his head. “It is pretty late.”

Donnie grunted and pulled out a wire that looked like it had been chewed clean through. Leo waited to see if he would give a more direct answer, but he said nothing.

“I’ll take that as a no?”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something, here, bro.” Donnie hunched over even further than he already was and flipped his goggles down over his eyes, closely examining every wire inside the panel for further defects. “Plus, I’m not tired.”

Leo raised an eyebrow, unbelieving, as Donnie yawned again. Perfect timing. He looked awkwardly to the side as soon as he saw Leo’s expression. “Yawns aren’t necessarily an indication of how tired someone is, you know.”

“Suuure they aren’t,” Leo leaned forward and pushed the piece of Shelldon he was working on towards the wall, making Donnie protest in agitation.

“Hey! Careful with that!“

“You can work on it tomorrow.”

“What are you, my dad?” Donnie grumbled, slumping backwards into his chair. “Fine.”

“Great!” Leo perked up, smiling. “I’ll join you.”

Donnie blinked at him. “You’ll what?”

“I’ll join you in your bed,” Leo stated matter-of-factly. He didn’t give himself any time to regret what he was saying. If it worked, it would be worth the risk.

“What...” Donnie shook his head, shocked at Leo’s audacity. “No, you won’t.”

“Aw, come on, please?” Leo begged, clasping his hands together. “I can’t sleep in my room. Dad has been snoring _ten times_ louder than normal lately, and it’s impossible to even hear myself think in there!” That was a lie. Splinter always snored, but that wasn’t what kept Leo up. Donnie looked at him, expression guarded.

“There are, like... A million other places you can sleep.”

“Yeah, but your bed is really comfortable and it’s nice and quiet in your room.” Leo tilted his head and smiled innocently. “Unless you want to swap rooms again?“

“No, god, no. Never again.” Donnie’s eye twitched, and Leo grinned.

“So, new roomie, you ready to get snuggly?” Leo wiggled his fingers then lunged at his brother for a hug, but Donnie intercepted with a swiftly moving mechanical claw-arm, outstretched from his shell armor to keep Leo at bay, where he struggled half-heartedly.

“No!” Donnie yelled, leaning as far as possible away from the danger that was just barely out of range. “No roomies, no snuggling.”

“Oh, why not?” Leo whined, letting himself be pushed back into a sitting position on the desk. He looked at Donnie with pleading eyes and angled his bruised jaw towards him for bonus sympathy points. It was only a dull ache at this point, but he was going to play every card he had. “You’d turn your own brother away in his time of need? After you mercilessly attack him? Have you no heart?”

Donnie groaned and retracted the mechanical arm, massaging his temples and squeezing his eyes shut in frustration as he did so. “Fine. Fine! I _guess_ you can stay in my room… With me.”

“Woo-hoo!” Leo pumped a fist in the air, victorious.

“ _But!_ ” Donnie snapped, raising a finger in the air. “There will be no cuddling, no snuggling, no hugging, and _especially_ no snoring of any kind. Understand?”

“You got it,” Leo saluted, frowning seriously. “Totally understand. Should I be taking notes?”

“I mean it, Leonardo! If I hear one _single_ snore out of you, you’re out!” Donnie jerked a thumb over his shoulder for emphasis.

“Sure, no problem, my lips are sealed.” Leo pretended to zip his lips closed and gave him a big smile. Donnie rolled his eyes and groaned, then turned away to start putting up his tools. Leo slid off the table and grabbed the now partially melted ice pack as an afterthought.

“I’ll go get my pillow,” he said happily, jogging out of the room with a skip in his step. If he hadn’t been tired before, he was certainly not tired now. _It had worked!_ His stupid last-minute idea had actually worked! Now all he had to do was continue to play it cool, which was practically his middle name. Leo felt a familiar pang of nervousness start to grip him, but he shook his head and dispelled it. He certainly wasn’t going to let himself ruin this when things were finally going his way.

When Leo reached Donnie’s room, pillow tucked safely under his arm, he found his brother already inside and currently in the process of undressing. Leo leaned against the entryway’s frame and waited, quietly watching the scene in front of him. Donnie had taken off everything except for what was on his arms and back, so now he was pulling off his fingerless gloves. One by one, he pulled them off, then carefully began to remove the touchscreen, placing it aside before much less carefully removing what was left. Finally, he noticed Leo staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He jumped slightly, but quickly composed himself and narrowed his eyes, acting bored. Leo smirked.

“Enjoying the show?” Donnie asked, totally deadpanned. He unhooked his shell armor and let it drop to the floor unceremoniously.

“Not one bit,” Leo lied, dragging his eyes away from Donnie’s real shell and looking at the wall. He didn’t often see Donnie without his fake shell. “You take forever to get everything off.”

Donnie yawned, unbothered by Leo’s nagging, and shut off the lights, throwing them into semi-darkness. Several faint blue and purple lights from his machines lit their surroundings in the main bulb’s stead. The two of them made their way to the front of Donnie’s bed and stopped, both staring up at it hesitantly. It was a pod shaped frame that was bolted a few feet in the air and had a ladder placed beside it. Donnie built it himself a while ago, and Leo could still clearly remember him proudly giving the whole family a tour of the room when he had finished it. The bed itself wasn’t as small as Leo remembered, so he was sure they could fit on it together. Anyway, he would make it work, even if they couldn’t fit. He’d come too far to give up now.

“I’m not sure we’re going to fit in there together,” Donnie said, side-eyeing Leo.

“We’ll make it work,” Leo replied, repeating the same sentiment he had just told himself. Donnie sighed, most likely disappointed that Leo still wasn’t backing down.

“If you say so,” he muttered. With that, he climbed up the ladder and pushed himself to the wall, leaving ample room for Leo, who started his ascent soon after. When he got to the top, he gently fluffed his pillow before placing it neatly down on the edge of the bed. Donnie watched silently, totally unimpressed. Then, much to his surprise, Leo proceeded to recklessly throw himself onto the mattress, which made everything on the bed (including his brother) bounce uncontrollably. Donnie yelped in surprise, just barely avoiding hitting his head against the pod’s roof.

“Watch it!” He snapped, steadying himself by grabbing onto the sheets. Leo let out a laugh through his teeth once he had made sure he wasn’t going to fall off. They were now effectively tangled together. Donnie was attempting to push Leo’s arms off of him, while one of Leo’s legs was trapped underneath Donnie’s, and the other on top. After much shoving and complaining, mostly on Donnie’s part, they separated. Leo had been pressed to the very edge of the bed, and they were just barely touching (if only because Leo had scooted closer to Donnie when he wasn’t looking). The bed was apparently wider than it had looked from below, so they could both probably sleep on it just fine while hardly grazing each other. Leo felt a faint twinge of disappointment, which he dutifully ignored.

They were both turned to face each other, heads close. Donnie looked both exasperated and embarrassed, while Leo maintained his usual expression of smugness.

“I hope you know that if you start snoring tonight, I will not hesitate to push you off this bed,” Donnie grumbled.

“You wouldn’t,” Leo’s eyes widened. That did actually seem like something Donnie would do if Leo went too far, and Leo really _would_ prefer not to fall off if he could help it.

“You know I would,” Donnie raised an eyebrow with a sadistic smile as if he were imagining the scene while he spoke. “You’re lucky I’m not doing it right now.”

“Fine, if that’s how you’re going to be,” Leo said, turning over and quickly deciding he was done taunting him for the night. “I don’t even wanna look at your stupid face anymore.”

“You better be nice to the guy who’s sleeping next to you, Leonardo,” Donnie whispered threateningly right next to his ear, making Leo’s shoulders suddenly tense. Donnie laughed at the reaction, and Leo turned back only briefly to glare at him.

“Funny,” he said, annoyed but amused. “Now go to bed! I actually would like to get some sleep before we have to wake up in the morning.”

“Fine, fine…” Donnie let out a content sigh as Leo turned back around to face the wall. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Donnie.”

Silence finally overtook them, the only noticeable sound being the low buzzing of some nearby machines. Leo had expected his twin to turn away from him as well, but he didn’t move. Leo blinked, but kept his eyes open. He could practically feel Donnie’s eyes boring holes through his skull. He was tired, but the events of the night were giving his mind way too many things to consider. Especially way too many _Donnie_ -related things. Things he had been trying to keep out of his mind when he started walking around the lair in the first place. Not that Leo was complaining; quite the opposite, actually. This had turned out better for him than he could’ve hoped. Did he feel a little bit creepy pushing his brother into sharing a bed? Yes, but it’s not like Donnie couldn’t have said no, right?

_That’s not true,_ an annoying voice spoke up, _Donnie said no plenty of times, but you wouldn’t take that for an answer, would you?_

_No,_ Leo argued stubbornly, _If he really didn’t want to do this he would’ve made it clear. He wouldn’t be in bed with me right now._

_Oh, come on, Leonardo,_ the voice was unrelenting. _How much clearer could he have made it? You just don’t want to hear the truth._

_No-_

_And the truth is that you’re a terrible excuse for a brother-_

Leo’s guilt-ridden thoughts were cut short by sudden movement behind him. He had almost forgotten where he was, and he blinked a few times in mild confusion. He could feel Donnie slowly shifting his weight closer to him, only stopping when he was flush against the back of his shell. Leo stayed perfectly still, somewhat afraid that moving would frighten him off, but his brother apparently wasn’t done there. With some hesitation, Donnie pulled his arm from his side and raised it up and around Leo, then ever so gently (as if not to disturb someone who was sleeping, Leo thought) he pulled Leo closer to him. They were now effectively spooning. The thought brought color to Leo’s cheeks, and he could feel his heartbeat speed up immediately. The annoying voice in his head had been completely silenced by the action, and he smiled, reassured and hopeful once again. 

Leo turned his head, careful not to disturb the tense arm wrapped around him, and looked at Donnie warmly. “Uh, Dee?”

Donnie was obviously nervous, now more so since he had realized that Leo was, in fact, not currently asleep. His face was redder than Leo had ever seen it. Leo chuckled at him, not unkindly, and that seemed to calm him, or at least snap him out of it.

“Quiet,” Donnie whispered harshly, falling into his familiar gruff demeanor, “I’m trying to sleep.”

His voice was in sharp contrast with his expression, which was soft and apprehensive. His gaze flickered down to focus on the mattress below them. When Leo didn’t move or do anything in reply for a few moments, Donnie glared up at him with a challenging look, as if he was daring him to say something about the arm that still remained around Leo’s waist.

Leo looked at him a second longer, heart beating so fast he was sure Donnie could feel it even through their shells, before he finally turned back around to face the wall, still smiling. Confident now, he placed a gentle hand over the one currently wrapped around him and finally closed his eyes for the night.


End file.
